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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2002)
ipriM),?nn? J— —>|35 M U S IC ............. ▼.............. Believe In new music T he I nfinite X s The Infinite Xs • Chainsaw Records T he N arcissist Rory Merritt Stztt • S elfreleased Just Out finds a bunch of Portland queers o a few years ago you threw in the towel and finally conced ed that all new music is shit. You stopped buying CDs and reading pop culture magazines, you stopped going to shows. Well, folks, I’m here to tell you: G o buy the Infinite Xs record. It will make you believe in new music again. The hand is composed of four recognizable players: Jody Bley le, who made a name for her self as the outspoken member of two former Portland groups, Hazel and Team Dresch; Tamala Poljak and Scotty Walsh, who, along with Bleyle, were once with Automaticans; and Whitney Skillcom, former singer/guitarist for Fighter D. All talented, all queer. T he self-titled record features three dis tinct songwriting voices (Bleyle, Poljak and Skillcom ) hut is masterfully pieced together, so it flows with both the ease o f a meandering stream and the spunk of whitewater rapids. Bleyle’s songs are deep and ferocious, true, mortal, yet invincible. One of her contributions is powerfully titled “What I Believe." She belts, “I believe good things are gonna come/that’s what I believe/1 believe inspiration will fill my lungs/that’s what 1 believe,” and later, “I believe that vision will come, and the fear will go.” Poljak is like Paul McCartneys evil dyke sis ter, writing pop songs that stick to you like dirty S underwear. “Joanna” is an infectious, ’80s-style dance number; “Shoot ’Em in the Foot” and “Brand New Reconnection” are hard-rocking and hook-filled. Skillcom has the grittiest style of the three, hut it’s also sensitive and beautifully emotive. “The Body’s Beat” seems to he about her deep relationship to music and music’s deep relation ship to love. On this song, she’s composed seamless time signature switches, so the music itself moves like a confused, tormented dancer. Riding on the strength of these uniquely powerful female songwriters, the Infinite Xs has something almost every single new group doesn’t: talent. Talent, folks. It’s enough to make you forget you gave up on music in the first place. — Katy Davidson G aragepro Leila Chieko Trio • S e lf released t’s a wonderful thing to he surprised. For example, when I was given the Garagepro EP (available at Music Millennium and Bor ders in Portland and C D World and Mother Kali’s in Eugene) by the Leila Chieko Trio, I took one look at the shoddy, home computer generated cover and thought to myself, “This is totally gonna blow.” I But when I put on the CD, I found myself wanting to listen, wanting to learn more about Leila, rocking out. I found myself in a pleasurably hazy world of grunge, blues and rock music. I found myself on the Internet, reading through her lyrics (at www.leilaleilaleila.com), bonding with her about womanly love and its joys and misfortunes. Chieko is a Hawaiian Portlander who plays the dnims whenever she’s not heavily riffing on her guitar or belting out lyrics, which she does often at local clubs. G aragepro (named after the hand’s prac tice space, perhaps) opens with “Silver Rings,” a catchy tune about two women tom apart. I detect traces of Melissa Etheridge and Ani DiFranco in her singing style and traces of Soundgarden and Nirvana in her riffs. It wouldn’t faze me to find some old metal records in Chieko’s collection. I can respect this. Equally as respectable, the singer shows a more delicate side on the third track, “Swept Off.” It’s slow and it has a pretty piano intro, giving the mostly rocking EP some breathing room. Chieko’s style is a little too recycled to change the world. But her raw talent is enough to surprise even the most skeptical critic. — KD C ru sh Voua F rm E stivai ^j) H i* 1 m m K m H srm i MTO (MT?MATTONAI K m FfSnw S mnmnci K m FttiMM J9 D "W hen the year is over, Cuaron’s film w ill be remembered as AS ONE OF 2002's FINEST! TWO THUMBS WAY UP!" Reservations Required Ticket Price Includes Wine and Bread m a m a MARIBEl VERDU GAIL GARCÍA B E R ^ ^ ^ i C M — — IM - M— 1 M M M t i w M N M I iMOM ■ ■ M M N R W jM g Seating Is Limited www.ytumanuUmbcM.comT Ml«* : :r IFC Films THIS FUNIS NOT RATED BUT CONTAINS STRONG SEXUAL CONTENT AND LANGUAGE NO ONE UNOERII Will BE ADMITTED ttB O a m a g S m i NOW PLAYING! REGAL CINEM AS Fox Tower 10 SW Park & Taylor (503)225-5555 + 4604 K aty D avidson fronts the Portland band Dear N ora. L ynn THOMAS is a Portland'orea musician. wine ba presents: B ut F ore tew K he music of Portlander Rory Merritt Stitt is an eclectic fusion of Techno-Sondheim- Bowie with snatch es of Fats Waller thrown in for good measure. The Narcissist (avail able at Music Millennium and Everyday Music in Portland) has it all— haunting melodies, riveting rhythms and synthetic sound— juxtaposed over a solid foundation of jazz piano. While much of the music world is busily rac ing from retro to pure acoustic, Stitt rides an atom splitter of synthesized percussion right through the heart of Yanni. “Crazy Horse” harnesses together multiple rhythmic schemes, which then toss the listener along the bucking path blazed by the lyrics of the song. The rich, dark timbre of his voice embraces the eros of his truth. Because Stitt is also a visual artist, much of his music evokes strong images. The song “Even in You" exploits a four-chord theme that is restless and repetitive yet hubbies incessantly upward toward the surface. Stitt is the only two-time winner of the Juneau Symphony Concerto competition and was chosen as one of only 10 new artists to be represented by Unsigned America for further promotion in Europe and Asia. — Lynn Thomas J H T making some damn fine sounds Morrison ÊÊ
